The Christmas Ornament
by M. Elizabeth Ravensblood
Summary: Before the show's canon. Samantha shops for a Christmas ornament and meets Jack. They share a passionate night and find love. Skewed Romance.


Author's Note: This is before the show's canon and rewrites part of Season 3. Reviews are appreciated.

Samantha walked through the mall, the sound of Christmas music blasting around her as she wove her way through the crowd. This was her first Christmas with Tom. They had moved in together in October and he proposed to her three weeks ago at Thanksgiving. She didn't have a lot of money to spend; but she wanted to find something really special. Maybe a special holiday decoration that he would treasure for years to come, she thought as a glittering Christmas shop caught her eye.

While pausing in front of a store window to look at holiday figurines, a woman pushed past Samantha, carelessly knocking her into an elegantly dressed man who had also been peering in the window. She would have fallen had the man not wrapped his arms around her and caught her. Time froze as Samantha looked up at the stranger's handsome face and his dark velvet eyes locked with hers. As she steadied herself, she made no move to pull away from his embrace.

"Are you all right?" he inquired as he reluctantly released her.

"I'm fine thank you," Sam smiled at him and started to walk into the store.

Jack watched the young woman and on impulse decided to follow her. When he'd caught her in his arms, he'd felt almost hypnotized by her sapphire eyes. Inside the store he saw her looking at ornaments and he slowly walked over to her. She was stretching for an ornament that was just out of her reach on the display.

"Allow me," Jack offered, as he brought one of the ornaments down for her.

"Thank you."

Jack studied her as she looked over the ornament. A scowl curled on his face as he saw the writing on the ornament. It was a lovely renaissance style piece comprised of two doves holding a banner in between them that read, _Our First Christmas_. Reaching upwards, he snatched down an identical ornament as plans formed rapidly in his mind. Jack informed her, "You have excellent taste."

"You're very kind. I just hope Tom likes it."

"Your husband?"

"Fiancé," Samantha replied walking to the checkout. Seeing Jack beside her with the same ornament in hand, she asked, "Is that for your wife or girlfriend?"

Non-commitally Jack answered, "Perhaps one day it will be."

"Well, I know if I were your wife I would be thrilled with such a romantic present. Oh dear, do you think it's too mushy to give a guy?" Sam worried, second guessing herself as the cashier rang up her purchase.

Jack reassured her, "Were I to receive such a gift from a woman as lovely as yourself, I would count myself a truly blessed man."

Samantha smiled and took her bag from the store while Jack was paying for his purchase. The moment he left the store, Jack scanned the crowd until he found her and followed behind her. As she walked out of the mall and into the cold air, Jack trailed behind her. Although he had more shopping to do, it would wait, there was something about this woman that compelled him to follow.

Just as she was about to step off the curb and walk to her car, Jack's face froze in horror as a car came screeching around the corner. Without a moment's hesitation, Jack ran as fast as he could and grabbed Samantha, pulling her out of the path of the speeding car. They slid across the ice into a snowdrift on the edge of the parking lot. Samantha stared wide eyed at her rescuer, as they both breathed heavily from the shock of their near death experience.

"I didn't see-"

"They came out of nowhere. Forgive for grabbing you in such an ungentlemanly manner and tossing us in the snow like this."

"Forgive you? Good God, I want to kiss you!" Samantha blushed and amended, "I mean you saved my life and I appreciate it very much."

Jack pulled away from Sam and struggled to his feet, his suit beyond saving as he offered her his hand to help her up. "My pleasure, Miss-"

"Sam. Sam Anderson soon to be Sam Waters." she replied taking his hand.

"Well Miss Samantha, I want you to go home and get into a hot bath immediately, doctor's orders."

She smiled and nodded as Jack bent to retrieve their packages and her purse. Taking the bag from him, Sam said, "Thank you for everything."

As she walked away, her foot slipped on the ice and she would have fallen again, had Jack not caught her. Smiling at her he informed her, "I'm beginning to think you're falling for me."

Sam laughed, then her eyes grew wide as he swept her up and began carrying her.

"Which car is yours?" Jack demanded.

Pointing to her car, she informed him, "I can walk. It's really not a problem."

"Samantha, it's getting dark out and has begun snowing. For some reason I feel like since I saved your life earlier I need to at least make certain you reach your car in one piece."

Jack deposited her by the driver's side of her car and walked away. Samantha felt oddly bereft as the warmth of his body left hers and he disappeared. Getting into the car, she put her keys in the ignition and tried to start the car. It gave a series of groans, but refused to start. Cold and wet Samantha let out a squeal of frustration and rested her forehead against the steering wheel.

A knock on the window startled her and brought her head up instantly. Outside the window was the man who helped her earlier. Gratefully, she rolled her window down to speak to him.

"Need a lift?"

"I really couldn't." Seeing the hurt look on his face, she explained, "I drove to Annapolis to shop, I live near Richmond Virginia and it's about a three hour drive. I couldn't impose."

"Not at all," Jack insisted and added, actually I'm headed for Atlanta, so I can escort you home on my way."

For a moment, she hesitated. Tom would be furious if he knew she was accepting a ride from a strange man. But Tom was with his parents visiting relatives in California and wasn't going to get home for several days. If she waited for a mechanic it would be a long and miserable night. Sam was cold and the handsome stranger had saved her life. Would it be so awful to accept a ride, just this once?

As if reading her mind, Jack informed her sincerely, "I've never forced myself on a woman in my life and never killed anyone who didn't deserve it."

At that Samantha laughed and got out of the car. Jack had stopped his car behind hers and left it running. Offering her his arm, Jack lead her to the car and opened the passenger door for her. The car was a black Mercedes with black leather seats and a genuine wooden dash board. From the scent of the soft leather seats the car was very new. Whoever the man was, he was definitely wealthy.

"I just realized, I don't know your name," Sam murmured as he slid in beside her and started driving.

"I'm Jack," he answered and brought a cigarette case out of his coat and started to light one.

Longingly, Sam stared at the curl of smoke. Tom insisted she give up smoking because his mother didn't approve, but she'd only just given them up when they moved in together and the urge was overwhelming. Noticing her expression, Jack held the case out for her, "Sorry, I just don't know where my manners are today. Please help yourself."

"I really shouldn't, Tom's mother disapproves and I promised to stop."

Placing the case back in his coat, Jack took a deep drag off his cigarette and handed it to her. Noticing her quizzical expression he suggested, "I don't think it counts if it's someone else's cigarette."

Taking a puff, Sam smiled with pleasure. Jack had thought she was quite attractive in the mall, but seeing her smile and relax made her beautiful. Reaching for the heat controls, Jack decided Samantha needed more pleasure and less propriety. Focusing his attention on the road, Jack drove through the streets of Annapolis. The snow was falling briskly and there was a slight fog cloying to the ground.

Samantha shivered slightly despite the warmth from the heater, her clothes were still quite wet from when Jack saved her. Seeing her discomfort, Jack invited, "Grab the Neiman Marcus bag from the back seat. There's a throw blanket in there, wrap yourself in it before you catch a cold."

Hesitantly, she obeyed but stopped as she brought the throw out of the bag. The throw blanket was a large satin lined square of ranch mink. After pushing it back in the sack, she demurred, "Thank you, but I don't feel I should."

Jack laughed and when he stopped at a traffic light, pulled the wrap out and tucked it snugly around her. "My mother already has one of those at most of our homes, I just thought I'd get one for the Savannah house because I'm running out of ideas. Please Samantha, I would feel eternally guilty if you were to become ill because I pushed you into that snow drift."

"If you hadn't pushed me into that snow drift I might not even be alive to have a chance to catch a cold. Why don't you get your wife to help?"

"My huh?"

"Your wife could probably help you shop for your mother."

"I'm not married, Samantha."

"Oh, but in the store I thought you said the ornament was for your wife-" she trailed off, becoming slightly nervous.

"I believe you asked if it were for my wife or girlfriend, I told you it would be one day. As I have neither at present I shall tuck it away. The woman I want is otherwise engaged, so I shall simply have to wait and watch for an opportunity to make her mine."

"Well, if you're willing to buy a gift for her just on possibilities, she must be quite something."

Jack looked possessively at Samantha and grinned, "Oh she truly is."

Returning his eyes to the road, Jack flipped the tape deck on and the strains of _Ave Maria_ began to softly fill the car. Samantha sighed and settled back against the seat, Jack's musical tastes were far more pleasant than Tom's loud bluegrass music. Sam started to doze in the warmth and serenity. Slowing in front of a deli, Jack looked for a parking spot and dashed inside. When he got back in the car, Sam roused and looked at him confused.

"I needed to stop and get directions, there was a detour sign and I didn't want to waste half the night driving around lost," Jack explained and handed her a foam cup. "Thought some coffee might warm you up. There's cream, sugar and a croissant in the bag for you too."

"A man who asks for directions and gets me a croissant, what more could a girl ask for?"

Pulling the car on the road, sipping his own coffee, Jack teased, "If you think of anything, just let me know and I'll see what I can do."

As Jack drove, they talked about their lives. Or rather Jack asked questions about Samantha's life and she answered. His answers tended to be enigmatic at best, though all delivered with great charm and wit. Several cigarettes were lit and shared between them as the car sped along. Sam was having so much fun, she was almost glad her car hadn't started. While he focused on the road, Jack stole glances at Samantha and memorized every word she told him.

About an hour into their trip, the weather started getting worse and the road became slick. Jack stopped talking and focused intently on the road when they passed the second accident. The wind was howling outside and the car drifted slightly several times from the intensity of the blast. Snow was starting to accumulate on the road and visibility was becoming terrible. Reaching for the console, Jack shut the tape off and switched the radio on. Over the radio the announcer's voice stated:

_The level two snow emergency that was in effect for the state of Virginia has now officially been upgraded to a level three snow emergency. All roadways are being closed to non-emergency traffic. The state highway patrol asks that all non-emergency traffic pull off the road immediately. Stay tuned for further updates._

Jack slowed down and hesitated, "Samantha, I need to know what you want to do. It's bad enough that I don't think we can make it, but if it's what you want I can try."

Sam was tempted to ask him to try to keep going when they had to slow further for a massive twenty car wreck ahead. Jack barked out suddenly, "Cover your face with the blanket! Now!"

The wreck was still being cleaned up and it wasn't pretty. Several bodies were visible and Jack saw the body of a child being placed into a body bag. Although Samantha was studying to be a profiler, he didn't know how many fresh corpses she'd been exposed to. Jack wasn't bothered by the tableau of death; but then he enjoyed creating death himself. One day he would know everything about his Samantha, he decided as he pulled past the mess.

Once they were out of sight of the wreckage, Jack pulled the cover off Sam's face and explained, "I didn't wish you to be needlessly disturbed. Now, back to my question, what is it you wish to do?"

"I guess we have no real choice but to stop," she sighed. Then added, "I'll trust your judgment, I would feel terrible if anything happened to you or your Mercedes."

"The hell with the car!" Jack declared vehemently. "Metal is meaningless! I couldn't live with myself if you were hurt or killed while I was driving!"

Sam looked at Jack, shocked by the intensity of his statement. Turning her head back to look out the window, she asked, "Where are we going to stop?"

Weather growing worse and knuckles whiter by the second, Jack requested, "Try to read what the next exit signs are for me, please."

"Falls Church in five miles and Sleepy Hollow in seventeen miles. The latter sounds rather ominous."

Jack chuckled and smiled for the first time in several minutes, "Unless you object we'll make it Falls Church. Although to be honest with you, of the two, Falls Church is the only one with supernatural connotations."

When they reached their exit, Jack pulled off the highway, the car fishtailing slightly as he did. Slowly Jack drove past several motels with NO VACANCY signs and continued to search for a possible place to stop. Seeing no place, he pulled into a gas station and left Samantha in the warm car while he went inside to investigate. When he came out several moments later, he had a bemused expression on his face.

"What?" Samantha inquired when Jack got back into the car.

"There are no other motels in town, but we're in luck. Hank in there who owns the gas station is married to Hazel the manager of the Falls Church Inn. He called his wife and she said she could help us out."

"Wonderful!" Sam exclaimed. The weather was getting so awful she decided Jack was right to stop and the prospect of a warm bath clinched it. "How did you manage it?"

As Jack drove back towards the cluster of motels he answered, "Due to the weather, the marriage between Chloe and Otis was delayed, ergo the honeymoon suite is ours."

Samantha stared wide-eyed and stuttered, "H-honeymoon s-suite?"

"Relax Samantha, I will be a gentleman and sleep on the floor," Jack assured her then added wickedly, "But should you wish, I'll be more than happy to oblige you with an evening that Chloe would envy."

"No thanks, Otis," Sam laughed as she relaxed. Jack had been nothing but charming and polite since she'd met him, there really was no reason to expect any differently now.

When they pulled up to the office of the motel, Jack went inside and got the key. Once the car was moved in front of the room, Jack opened Sam's door. She got out and started to slip on the ice. Wordlessly Jack swept her up and carried her to the door. Continuing to hold her, he fumbled with the key and pushed the door open. Samantha was about to suggest he put her down, when Jack carried her over the threshold as undoubtedly many a groom had before in the room. After depositing Samantha inside the room, Jack went back to the car and brought in quite a few bags and the mink throw.

"What are those for?"

"Just a few things to make us more comfortable," Jack responded and began to unpack the items. He gathered a rose scented bath gift basket and a man's dress shirt and handed them to Samantha. "Why don't you get a nice warm bath and I'm going to run over to the convenience store across the street and see if between there and the pizza place next door I can manage some dinner for us?"

"All right," she agreed. Then asked abashedly, "Jack? Do you think you're going to smoke before you go out?"

His face broke into a wide grin and he popped a cigarette into his mouth and lit it. Taking a quick drag first, he flipped it around and pressed it to Samantha's lips. Longingly he watched her, wishing he could feel her lips against his. When she exhaled, he took her hand and brought the cigarette to his lips. Relishing the feel of the paper that touched her lips for a moment, he released her hand and started to walk to the door.

"Anything you would like?" he inquired politely.

Samantha bit her lip and answered, "No, thank you. I really can't keep letting you spend your money on me."

Jack laughed and mentally decided on several items that might tempt her and walked out of the room. When Jack left, Sam went into the bathroom, soaked in the tub briefly and got out. She wanted the bathroom to be available for Jack when he got back, since he had repeatedly gone into the cold for their benefit. After drying off, she put on a spray of the rose scented body spray that was among the bath items he gave her.

Just as she finished buttoning the shirt, there was a knock as the door. Samantha opened the door to a snow covered Jack. In one arm he held a pizza box; the other had several plastic bags hanging from it and between his lips was a red rose. She took the pizza box and set it on the bed while Jack came inside and set the bags on top of the satin covered bed as well. Looking at Samantha, he removed his coat, the rose still between his lips. Once he had his coat off, he pulled the rose from his mouth and presented it to her with a flourish.

"To thank you for keeping me company," he told her.

Sam hesitated before accepting the rose, it was very large and perfect. The gesture was a very personal one and she knew she should refuse, but somehow the words wouldn't come out. The rose still had the thorns on it, Sam realized looking at it. Looking at Jack, she was about to thank him when she noticed a small drop of blood on his lip. Raising her hand to his face, she traced her thumb over his lip.

"Your lip is bleeding," she explained as she heard the sharp intake of his breath.

Jack looked at Samantha, fighting an urge to kiss her, he suggested, "Why don't you look through the bags and make a picnic for us while I get a quick shower." A cold shower, he added mentally.

While Jack was showering, Samantha went through the bags, trying not to think about Jack being naked just a few steps away. It took all her willpower not to lick the drop of blood from his mouth. What was wrong with her? Tom was a wonderful man who loved her and wanted to marry her. Jack was a stranger she'd just met. Okay, a sexy stranger who had saved her life, gone out of his way for her, with the most tantalizing mouth she'd ever seen. Oh God, this was not good. Think of Tom, Sam admonished herself as she arranged the plastic plates, utensils and glasses one sack had yielded.

All thoughts of Tom fled when Jack re-entered the room, with a pair of white silk pajama pants riding low on his slim hips. His lightly muscled chest and arms were bare as he approached the bed. Jack sat down on the bed across from Samantha and her breath caught in her throat. As he sat, the silk pulled tightly across his groin, leaving nothing to Sam's imagination. Blushingly, she asked if he could open one of the bottles of wine she'd found in a bag along with a corkscrew.

Deftly, Jack uncorked the bottle and poured for both of them. As he handed Samantha a glass he noticed her flushed stare and followed her gaze to the source of her fascination. To his chagrin, he hardened under Samantha's scrutiny. Slightly embarrassed by his reaction, he opened the pizza box and suggested she eat while it was hot. Her glance moved from Jack's lap to the pizza and she stared in disbelief. Inside the box was a heart shaped pizza.

Grateful for the distraction, Jack explained, "They said Otis had pre-ordered a pizza for tonight and that it was already ready and that we could have it. Apparently Mr. Otis Edwin Boast is a romantic as well as the best bowler in town."

Taking a slice, Sam asked, "How on earth do you know all this?"

"The locals seemed thrilled to tell me in great detail about the delayed wedding when they found out where I was staying. Outside of the wedding, our presence is the most interesting thing in Falls Church."

Samantha started to giggle at the expression on Jack's face. Throughout their journey he'd been so suave and dignified, the vision of a flannel and denim clad cashier regaling him with the nuptial plans of Chloe and Otis struck her as hilarious. Relieved to avoid sexual tension for few moments, he entertained her with all the details as she ate and laughed. Jack told her about the bowling themed wedding cake and that the rose he'd bought for her was from the stock that the convenience store sold for Chloe who apparently had quite the green thumb.

"I need to stop," Samantha said after Jack offered to pour her third glass of wine.

"Why? You've had a rough day." Then Jack poured a full glass for himself, took a sip and handed it to her, suggesting, "I think wine is like the cigarettes, it doesn't count when it's someone else's."

Jack moved closer to Samantha so she could eat from his plate and drink from his glass. Everytime she started to resist and impulse he would remind her that it didn't count since the items were his. Once the pizza was out of the way, they leaned against the head of the bed sharing a plastic glass of wine and passing a cigarette back and forth. Sam noticed Jack's lip had started to bleed again and leaned over and kissed him.

No sooner had their lips met, then she drew back, "God, Jack, I'm so sorry. You're lip was bleeding again. I don't know what I was thinking."

Jack covered her mouth with his, "Doesn't count when it's giving first aid."

"And this?" Samantha panted breathlessly.

"If someone kisses you it doesn't count," Jack informed her before closing the gap between their lips again.

Through a haze of lust, Samantha distantly remembered Tom, but couldn't draw away from Jack. His hands moved over her, expertly arousing her and making rational thought impossible. If she let him touch her, it didn't count, right? Liar, she told herself, but continued to melt against Jack and allow him to touch her. He pulled back for a moment and studied her face, trying to decide if he dared continue.

"Since this is Otis and Chloe's wedding night, it doesn't count," Samantha panted and guided his hand to the buttons of her borrowed shirt.

Jack's fingers unbuttoned the shirt as he kissed Samantha's throat. Pulling the shirt back to expose her breasts, he lowered his head and teased her nipple to a swollen point. As she arched under Jack's touch, Samantha was dimly aware that a virtual stranger was arousing her more than her fiancé ever had. Tomorrow she would be Tom's Sam again, but tonight she was Jack's Samantha and would enjoy all the pleasure he had to offer. His mouth moved between her breasts, alternating sweet torments on each.

When Jack's mouth trailed down to her pussy and he began to taste her, Samantha raised her head and told him, "You really don't have to. Tom says he doesn't like to."

Jack raised his head only slightly to look up at her face. As he spoke, his goatee lightly teased against her clit. "One day my Samantha you will come to realize Tom is a fool. I'm absolutely ravenous, surely you won't deprive me of my feast."

Samantha gasped and forgot her protests as Jack took her in his mouth and began to lick slowly between her legs. As his tongue circled her clit slowly, his hands moved up to caress her breasts. In their entire relationship, Tom hadn't gone down on her this long if all the times were added together. Jack murmured a few words to reassure Samantha and get her to relax, but never changed his languorous pace, enjoying the subtle feeling of her increased pleasure.

His Samantha had been too controlled and too busy being what others wanted her to be for far too long. There was a great deal of potential within her. Potential for passion and a potential for violence struggled to break free within Samantha. Jack wanted to unleash everything she was fighting to restrain. As Sam's first orgasm made her cry out, Jack realized he could only release her passion tonight and likely in the morning she would go running back to Tom. But one day he decided; he would be the catalyst that would mean Samantha's deliverance. Tonight Jack would content himself with what she gave him, but in time she would beg to give him her all.

Lifting his mouth from Samantha's heated sex, he smiled and admired his work briefly before moving his lips up her body. Jack's mouth traveled back to Samantha's breasts, as she reached for the waist of his pajama pants and tugged impatiently at them. Smiling at her eagerness, Jack withdrew from her embrace and pulled the white silk out of the way. Sam rose up and grasped his velvety shaft in her hand, making Jack gasp. For a moment, he allowed himself to enjoy her attentions, then pushed Samantha back on the bed.

Eagerly Samantha pulled Jack's body to hers and moaned as their lips met. Jack gently rubbed his erection on her swollen clit, delaying the moment of their union. As his mouth descended on the hollow of her throat, Samantha's tongue traced the contour of Jack's earlobe and darted between the small twin hoops that pierced it. Samantha's legs wrapped around his waist and she tried to draw him into her wetness, his gentle grinding had her aching with need.

As she arched against him, Jack demanded in a passion roughened voice, "Tell me what you want Samantha."

"Y-you," she panted urgently. "Want to feel you inside me."

"Say my name Samantha and you will."

"Please," she whimpered. "Jaaacck-"

His name became a wail on her lips as Jack pushed slowly inside her weeping slit. Sam's blue eyes widened, as he penetrated her, his cock gently stretched and filled her. None of her encounters with Tom had ever prepared her for the intensity of Jack's sensual invasion. Having only ever experienced the harsh pistoning motions of her fiancé's lovemaking, Jack's subtle undulations were beyond anything Samantha could have ever imagined. As a riot of sensations overwhelmed her, Sam clung to Jack, her face a play of rapture and amazement.

Moving slowly within her, Jack watched her face intently, committing every nuance of Samantha to his memory. They fit beautifully together, almost as if God had molded them just for one another, Jack decided. Feeling Samantha begin to quiver underneath him, he moved his mouth to hers, taking delight in her cries of pleasure as she clung to him. Jack reveled in Samantha's orgasm and fought desperately for control to refrain from climaxing himself. If tonight was all they would have for a long time to come, he was going to make damn certain neither of them forgot it.

When Samantha was on the brink of crying out her pleasure for a third time, Jack finally allowed himself to follow her over the edge and find release. For many minutes the couple remained silent and watched one another with amazement. Still joined, Jack began to move slowly within Samantha again. Astonished to feel his swell within her so rapidly, Samantha wrapped her arms around him and surrendered to his erotic rhythm.

"My Samantha," Jack breathed softly. "You're mine. Mine."

Beyond thought, Samantha spoke from her heart as she cried out, "Yours, Jack. Only yours."

Abandoning all restraint, Jack gently increased his tempo as he whispered fiercely, "Love you, Samantha."

Looking into his dark eyes, words spilled from Samantha's lips. "I love you, Jack. God help me I do."

Her admission, made Jack tremble. Covering her lips with his, Jack allowed himself to surrender to the enchantment of his Samantha. Their mouths never broke contact as they writhed against one another. Wordless cries of rapture were swallowed by one another as their erotic dance reached it's crescendo. Jack moved to his side, pulling Samantha with him, not wanting to break the union of their bodies. Reverently, Jack brought her hand to his lips. After brushing his lips on her hand, he placed her hand over his heart.

"I meant what I said, Samantha. I love you."

"I love you too, Jack. But in the morning-" she trailed off. In the morning she had to leave. Sam would return to Tom and try to forget. But how could she forget? Jack had worked his way into Samantha's heart and she was afraid nothing would ever be the same.

"Morning is many hours off, my Samantha." Jack's lips descended to hers as he murmured, "Regret has no place in a bed where something so beautiful has transpired."

Rational thought fled as once again Jack covered Samantha's body with his. Jack was right, she decided as she yielded to his caresses again. For the rest of the night, the only words that either spoke were of love and passion. It was an evening of enchantment and to be savored. Near dawn, Samantha fell asleep in Jack's arms; but he remained awake cherishing every moment as he watched her sleep.

Morning pushed onward and at last, Jack reluctantly woke Samantha with a kiss. For a moment she blinked contentedly at him and pretended that this wasn't going to be good-bye. Quietly, Jack rose from the bed and dressed under Samantha's gaze. Although he knew it would be hard to leave her, he hadn't realized just how painful it would be.

"Last night at the convenience store, I arranged to have your car towed to a garage and they promised to have it delivered here," Jack informed her as he peered out the window. The car stood in the snowy parking lot in front of the door. Sometimes having the money to move mountains, wasn't such a great thing. "Your car is parked in front of the room."

"Oh," Samantha responded and looked wistfully at Jack. "So I guess I won't need you to drive me home then."

"That's right."

Samantha rose from the bed and grabbed the shirt from last night around her. As she buttoned it haphazardly, she approached him, "Jack?"

Instantly he spun around and took her into his arms. Embracing her tightly, he pleaded, "Come with me. Forget Tom, forget everything Samantha. Come with me and I'll devote my entire existence to your happiness."

"Oh Jack," Samantha sighed. "I can't. I won't do that to Tom and I can't abandon my career."

"Can't fault a man for trying," Jack chuckled whimsically.

"You'll go on with your life and forget about me within a week," she told him. Forget her within a week? The thought left her feeling empty and hurt. Even though she knew she would return to Tom, she knew she could never forget her night with Jack.

"Forget you?!" Jack exclaimed in disbelief. "Until the day I die, I will remember every moment I've had with you and long for more."

"Oh Jack," Samantha breathed. Christ, he made it tempting to forget everything. Why couldn't Jack have entered her life a few months back?

"Good-bye, Sam."

Sam? That was the first and only time he ever called her that since they met. The name sounded hard and alien in his mouth. Sam was Tom's. Samantha was Jack's and the knowledge that she would no longer be his hurt terribly. As his hand moved to the knob, she cried out his name. When he turned to her, she asked, "Would you kiss me good-bye?"

"No," he replied. Seeing her surprised and wounded expression he explained. "Last night, the cigarettes, the kissing, and even making love you had the excuse that it didn't count because I did those things to you. I would give everything I own to feel your lips again and oblige you."

"I don't understand."

"Kiss me, my Samantha. Let me know that at least one kiss counted for something."

Uncertainly, she moved forward. Jack made no move as she wrapped her arms around him. Tentatively, she brought her lips to his. Despite the lack of response she continued to press her lips to his. Frustrated, she begged, "Please Jack."

The sound of his name on her lips was all he needed. Instantly, Jack's arms tightened around her returning her embrace and his mouth moved against hers. For several minutes they shared a long and poignant kiss. In the back of their minds, each knew this would be all they would have from one another for a long time to come. Once their kiss stopped, they continued to hold tightly to one another. Several tears welled up in Samantha's eyes and Jack smiled gently.

"Don't cry, my Samantha. I know you're not ready yet, but I shall wait for the day you are."

"Jack, I'm going to marry Tom," she told him, trying convince herself as much or more than him.

"I know. I also know you'll regret every day with him and wonder about me. Every night he will leave you unfulfilled and you'll peer through the darkness and think of me. One day when you're ready my Samantha, you'll discover I've been waiting for you all along and we'll never be parted again."

"Jack, I-" she trailed off. She should defend Tom and tell him he was wrong, but instead a small part of her feared he was right.

"I'll be watching and waiting my Samantha," Jack informed her. Kissing her one last time, he walked out of the room.

Jack got into his car and waited for several minutes, hoping she would change her mind about coming with him. When she didn't emerge, he sighed and slowly pulled out into crisp winter morning. He reached back to the back seat and pulled out his bag from the ornament shop. At a stop sign, he carefully slid the precious ornament onto his review mirror. Samantha might not be his yet, but she would be. As he drove Jack started making plans for their courtship.

Mechanically, Samantha got into the shower and got ready to leave the motel. She fought tears vainly and sobbed for nearly an hour. Although she knew she shouldn't take any part of Jack with her, Samantha gathered his rose and his white dress shirt. When she pulled out of the motel, she looked guiltily at the shirt and rose that rested beside the bag that held Tom's Christmas ornament. Briefly, she wondered if Jack would keep the identical ornament that he had purchased.

Sam tried to push away thoughts of Jack and devote herself to Tom and to atone for her infidelity. Despite what Jack said about the night counting, every glorious second had counted and burned at the edges of her mind. Tom remained unaware of Samantha's indiscretion. Buried deep within her closet a small container held the drying red rose and Jack's shirt with the faint scent of smoke and passion clinging to it. Everyday Samantha would promise herself to throw the box out and forget; but somehow she would end up rubbing the soft material against her cheek and hiding the box yet again.

On Christmas day, Sam presented Tom with the ornament and tried vainly not to think of Jack when she looked at it. Tom's parents were at the house and watched as their son gave Sam a sloppy kiss and hung the ornament on the tree. A moment later, while they stood by the tree to pose for a picture, Tom's elbow bumped the ornament and it crashed to the floor. Ominously the piece split in two. Although Tom apologized, Sam's mind traitorously though, Jack would have never been so careless. As Samantha tried to glue the ornament back together, Tom forgot about it and watched television with his parents.

Jack spent Christmas in his apartment, surrounded by photos of Samantha that a barrage of private investigators had taken. Further investigation on his own yielded further information and mementos. Jack had several bouquets of roses he purchased from Chloe and had gotten her to promise to teach him how to grow roses like hers when she got back from her honeymoon with Otis. By candlelight, Jack held the precious ornament that his Samantha had selected. Listening to _Ave Maria_ on the record player as his finger tip traced the letters that spelled, _Our First Christmas_, he sighed her name over and over, "Samantha."

Samantha would push aside thoughts of her Jack as another Jack would occupy her life. Once or twice she wondered and even secretly wished that Jack-of-All-Trades was her Jack, but when Donald Lucas was captured, her hope fled. Last night she'd hosted a Christmas party for the VCTF and tonight she was alone, her daughter was spending the night at a friend's house. When she'd unpacked the Christmas ornaments, she came across the small package with the long dried rose and Jack's shirt. Irresistibly her mementos called to her and she undressed and put on the shirt.

Sitting by the tree wearing Jack's white shirt, Samantha sat watching the tree and wondered if her Jack ever thought of her. On the stereo, _Ave Maria_ played, ironically the religious piece made her always remember the most passionate night of her life. Chloe had hung Tom's ornament on the tree that had to be repaired nearly every year. Poor Tom, he never would know that her daughter had been named after the woman whose abandoned honeymoon contributed to her night with Jack. She loved her daughter, but more than once when she looked at her, regretted that Tom's blue eyes stared back instead of Jack's dark gypsy eyes.

Her serenity was interrupted by the sound of a helicopter flying very low overhead. Briefly she wondered what a helicopter would be doing landing in a residential area, but abandoned her thoughts as the renaissance dove ornament fell from the tree, this time shattering almost to dust. Samantha rose and was going to get the broom when she heard a noise behind her. Turning, she saw him.

Standing behind Samantha, was Jack. Between his teeth was a thorny rose, that she immediately recognized. One arm held a pizza box from Falls Church and in his hand was the ornament he'd purchased identical to the one that lie in shards on the floor. Bowing, Jack placed the box on the coffee table with a flourish and held the rose out to Samantha. Unthinkingly, she reached for the flower that was offered.

"At last, Samantha," Jack murmured with a smile.

Hearing his voice, Samantha realized just who Jack was. Her eyes grew wide as she thought of everything she should do or say. But somehow all she could manage was, "Pizza from Falls Church?"

"Heart shaped and still hot," he informed her.

"Jack. All this time."

Moving closer, Jack purred sibilantly, "I told you my Samantha, I would watch and wait."

The man in front of her had killed Tom and countless others. His obsession with her had followed her for nearly a decade and she should run or at the very least hate him. Instead, she allowed him to wrap his arms around her. Samantha trembled in his embrace and he held the Christmas ornament up for her inspection. He was offering it to her and his words that it would one day be for his wife, sprung to Samantha's mind. If she accepted it, she knew that Jack would consider it a tacit agreement. Whereas Tom had broken and discarded her gift, Jack had held onto and treasured the ornament on the chance that one day she would accept it.

"Shall we hang it on the tree?" Samantha asked softly.

Together their hands guided the ornament onto the tree and they stared at it. Jack turned to Samantha and moved to kiss her. She pushed him away slightly and he looked hurt. Then Samantha, grabbed him and pressed her lips to his. When their lips parted, he looked confused. With a smile, her hands moved to his shirt and began to unbutton it, "I want to make sure you know, everything counts tonight and it always did."

By the glittering Christmas lights, they made love and explored one another with delight. Their joining was intense and poignant as they tried to make up for the many years of separation. Again they would make vows of love, but this time the lovers wouldn't part. In the early hours of the morning, instead of feeling any regret, they only felt hunger. Once they had sated themselves temporarily with one another, they enjoyed cold pizza and planned their future.

When Donald Lucas orchestrated a string of murders in Otis, California and the VCTF investigated, Samantha was deeply touched by Jack's naming the town in honor of their courtship. Privately he would confide that the picture of Otis in the sheriff's department was indeed, THE Otis. Her coworkers were surprised and confused by Samantha's romantic interest in the small town sheriff. After the trial of Donald Lucas and his subsequent suicide, Samantha quit the FBI to marry the Otis sheriff.

To celebrate their union, the couple married several times. Once as Sheriff Boast and Sam, again as Albert Newquay and Samantha, on a whim as Chloe and Otis and finally leaving a dead priest behind when the true Jack-of-All-Trades married his Samantha. Atlanta would be left behind and a strange gothic mansion would be constructed overlooking Falls Church with a huge conservatory filled with roses and an immense rose garden that threatened to swallow the house.

Samantha would learn the pleasure of killing from Jack and together they left a trail of bodies across the country, always careful not to draw attention to Falls Church. When the Falls Church pizzeria went bankrupt, Jack purchased it and gave it to Otis and Chloe as a gift, with the proviso that they always have a heart-shaped pizza ready to deliver to their benefactors. Jack and Samantha kept to themselves, although they did go bowling with Otis and Chloe once every few weeks. The ornament that had united them was on display year round in a lit glass case that Jack commissioned.

Together, Jack and Samantha would explore the mysteries of one another for many Christmases to come; but they never forgot their first Christmas.


End file.
